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There it was again. Again, and again and again.
A long day had been an understatement to say the least as the silver haired student stared at the dark ceiling above him. If he concentrated enough, he could almost make out the faint darker marks of mold. Not that he could see in the dark of course. That would be silly, no it was the lack of curtains that should have draped across the window.
Tonight, it seemed that the moon would perfectly illuminate his barren room once more. His sleeping laptop, a going away gift of sorts from home, hummed quietly like the newly reborn stress within his mind.
How many hours had it been since he'd given up on his essay?
And there it was again. That sound. Takumi turned on his side, burying his ear in his pillow and the other with his crumpled-up locks.
The beginning of the university year hadn't been merciful which was to be expected. Three essays in the span of a week was enough foreshadowing to tell him that the year was going to be rough. The professors were obviously going to be merciful the first time but the first week had been a month ago and Takumi was barely coping.
It didn’t help that he hadn't a full night's rest for the same amount of time. He could almost imagine Sakura chiding him to sleep earlier. Takumi rolled onto his back in frustration. That sound. There it was again. It resembled some kind of weird knocking or was it thumping? By now he had listened long enough to notice it's patterns. Yet it was repetitive and endless. Had an animal been trapped in the attic?
Slowly Takumi leaned against the yellowed wallpaper, careful not to pull it off. Tiredness mingling with the sense of despair and at the same time acceptance. There was no way in hell Takumi could force himself through another day, not with all these interruptions.
It was beginning to make sense in his dreamless mind why the room had been so cheap. At first he thought it had been left due to its clear markings of age. Perhaps it was due to being on the sixth floor, not that he had minded the extra exercise or maybe its proximity to the attic, not that he was all that superstitious, but he hadn't expected this.
The apartment was all well and good for the first few weeks however...thump!
Takumi sighs, "I'm not going to sleep am I?"
He closes his eyes almost falling asleep. Thump. There it goes again. Takumi growled, viciously kicking off his blanket, while unceremoniously rolling onto the ground. Snatching his phone of his desk, he flings the door open with a slam. Determination and sleeplessness practically seething in his eyes. The dark circles only further emphasising his ill intentions. Although being sleep deprived does do that to a person.
Checking his phone battery and keys in his coat pocket, he steadily made his way up the winding stairs. Usually he'd walk this path in daylight to get to the spacious roof, ignoring the one door that he'd normally walk by.
Not tonight.
The flashlight from his phone really emphasised the absence of light as he crept up the stairs. He wasn't sure when but somewhere along the trek he'd lost his anger and enthusiasm. The shadows encompassed him as his slippers echoed across the stone. Occasionally he'd scare himself by the distinct scraping noise his slippers would make but he continued. After all if living with his siblings had taught him one thing was that if you didn't commit you'd lose and gain nothing for your efforts.
His fingers shook as the cool night's breeze gripped him tightly. The thumping was distinct from behind the door. He was certainly close. The wind howled as it rattled the gate separating the rest of the building from the roof.
It took the shivering student a moment to find the correct key. The shaky light and sudden chills were not helping. Perhaps if this were a different situation he would have felt a little homesick. After all autumn nights at home were never this cold.
Thump.
Click.
Silence.
Perhaps he had scared away the animal. He shook his head as his hand gripped the brass handle tightly. If this wasn't dealt with tonight...well, he didn't feel like stress crying at the university campus.
The darkness scuttled away from the glare of the light, signalled by the screech of the door. Collections of boxes were lined against the wall, duct tape and name tags shone back at him. Hesitating he continued to scan the area with his light. There were mountains of aged boxes but nothing seemed to move. Not even the thin layers of dust that seemed to coat everything.
"H-Hello?" he spoke tentatively. No movement. ‘God this is getting creepy. What was making that noise?’
Stepping further into the room, he continued to look around. Whatever had been in here seemed to stop. Did it know he was here?
"Please just be some stupid rat or something" he mutters, flinching until he realises it's just another untouched box. Had it always been this spacious? He glanced back at the door way through the boxes. Whatever was causing this noise had to be deeper in... maybe if he just left the door open...
And gone he was.
He took a deep breath, as he locked his apartment door. Never had he been so relieved to see the withered cracked paint of his door. Takumi leaned heavily against it, tired and a little stressed. Upon returning it felt as though his heart and chest were about to burst. A cold shiver wracked has body as he slowly regained some mobility. In truth his legs had given out a little, though it was certainly because he was relieved to be back. Takumi buried his face in his knees.
He felt pathetic.
But maybe that was the weariness that had pooled within him speaking.
Thump…’perhaps the animal is leaving.’
Thump…’please it doesn’t take that long to leave’
Thump.
Similarly, to the saintly peals of bells it seemed to renew his spirit.
Channeling the deity of insomnia, he found himself once more at the entrance of his madness. He shook his head as he strode in. A weak attempt at confidence but to any onlookers Takumi was sure he’d look terrifying and possibly insane. No time for doubts now, a second tactical escape would definitely be cowardly.
There was certainly nothing out of the ordinary with every beam of light shone. The terrain of cardboard boxes seemed never ending. Like every stereotyped horror movie whatever had been making the noises seemed to live in the darker depths of the attic. Nonetheless he crept forward, careful not to make a sound like a soldier in a minefield.
It drew him to it. His heart tugging him, weaving through the labyrinth, until he reached it. Reached what he seeked.
A large rectangular wooden box hidden beneath clothes Takumi didn’t recognise. Thick velvety material and copious amounts of lace. Not that he cared much for it in this state. Roughly estimating its location, he realised it was directly above his bed. It certainly seemed silent now. What nerve to deprive him of sleep! Shoving the clothes aside revealed a single pale rose. Blue like the ocean but as dark as it’s depths. It was very much unlike the traditional colour he was used to seeing. He blinked wearily, sizing it up. The question of why and how it was there didn’t really cross his mind. It glimmered back at him in response.
Loud silence greeted his ears as he stared down at it. Gripping the soft stem, he threw it behind him with a huff. Something seemed to shatter or did that only echo in his mind? The hairs along his well built back stood on end.
The lid began to shift, something was stirring. It slide off.
Takumi fell hard against the floor, breathe hitched he froze as it dived after him. He first cried out as his back roughly skidded across the floor. His vision itself shivering, twitching, catching the blur of unmistakable unnatural red. Those, were those eyes?! Shamefully he whimpered, a soft caress against his neck seemed to jumpstart his nerve system. Growling in embarrassment he moved his leg to try to kick him. Panic seemed to drown him now, as he realised all too quickly.
He couldn’t move.
Meanwhile whatever was on top of him only chuckled at his despair. It’s icy breath set his nerves on fire.
“W-what are you?” His voice barely a whisper. He hated how small he felt. He couldn’t move his arms, he couldn’t move his legs, he couldn’t move.
It hissed something in reply, but the twin blades against his neck were far too distracting. A heavy weight seemed to make itself home upon his unmarred sinless body.
“What vigour you have to keep fighting me” mocked the creature, gliding it’s tongue against him once more. “Now, shall we end this dance?” was all the warning he had. He cried out a second time but in pain. Every muscle tensed from the sudden explosion of pain slithering from his neck. Takumi could feel the pool of warmth seeping out of his neck.
Takumi lurched from his slumber. Body shaking and tender. Audibly his spine creaked in protest at the awkward angle he had been resting at. Strange, he blinked a couple of times. He could not remember feeling the awkward pangs of hunger during the night. Neither were there plates living in the sink, he had promised himself not to create the Great Wall of Ceramic. So why was he in the living room?
“Good, you’re alive” came a voice hovering at the edges of his blurred vision.
It wasn’t to say he had bad eyesight especially since archery was the only thing he could pride himself on, at least that’s what it felt like most of the time. Something just didn’t seem right. The world adopted a snail’s pace and yet this stranger with a foreign face managed to live on at a different pace.
One moment he resided in the corner of the room and next he materialised beside him. Perhaps his mind was indecisive about where to place the taller boy. Face pale like the moon he’d stare at back at home with eyes like the dying flames of magma. Sleepily he reached out to touch this strange illusion. It certainly was different to the ones he’d forced himself to get used to over the last month.
He felt bone first. Then the cold of his snowy skin. It gripped his wrist tightly.
He gripped his wrist tightly.
“You have a lot of explaining to do” whispered the boy.